MIAMI — Roy Halladay finished the 2012 season with a 4.49 ERA. But he also finished with a win.

In a performance that was again mediocre by Halladay’s standards, Doc got the win in the Phillies 9-5 win over Miami. Halladay allowed five runs on six hits and three walks, striking out seven in five innings to bring his final record to 11-8.

Miami jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the 1st inning. Halladay surrendered four singles and a walk in the inning.

Pete Orr’s two-run double in the 2nd inning brought the Phillies to within 3-2. But after a Giancarlo Stanton’s solo homer in the 4th, the Marlins made some room with a 4-2 lead.

The Phillies got Halladay the only lead he would need in the 5th inning. Chase Utley hit a two-run single and Domonic Brown had an RBI triple to give the Phillies a 5-4 lead.

The Phillies padded the lead in the 7th with a Carlos Ruiz two-run single, making it a 7-4 game.

NOTE: News broke yesterday, but no one from the site was available to post it until this morning.

Phillies 2B Chase Utley. (Matt Slocum/AP)

After a month — since August 29 to be exact — of fielding ground balls at the hot corner and the discussion that followed, Phillies second baseman Chase Utley will not play third base in the final six games of the season for the Phillies.

The Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro and manager Charlie Manuel simply told Utley before Friday’s 2-1 loss to Miami that they were going to not pursue the idea of Utley at third base. They both felt that the six remaining games was not enough of a sample size to evaluate Utley at that position.

“I don’t know if it’s a matter whether or not he can do it,” Amaro said. “I think it’s more a matter of practicality and what’s really best for the team overall. While having that option would be helpful, I don’t know if it’s really an option that’s going to make us necessarily better.”

Amaro also added, “”In retrospect, it would be difficult to make a real assessment in six games, to watch this guy play and say, ‘OK, we know Chase Utley is going to be an average defender and better for our team.’ That’s a very difficult thing to be able to assess. None of us are good enough scouts to be able to do that.”

PHILADELPHIA — The Phillies fell to Washington in their final home game of the season, a season that they will soon long to forget.

In his last start of the season, Tyler Cloyd was less-than-impressive again and the Nationals capitalized in their 7-3 win over Philadelphia.

Cloyd was shelled for six runs in five innings of work. He will head into the off season as a candidate for the rotation next season, but his unimpressive stint with the Phillies will certainly be on the minds of the coaching staff.

The Phillies led 3-1 after a 1st-inning three-run double by Darin Ruff.

The Nationals chipped away at the lead. They got a solo homer from Michael Morse in the 2nd inning to make it 3-2 and an RBI ground out by Morse tied the game up in the 4th.

Washington took the lead in the 5th and didn’t look back on Bryce Harper’s RBI single.

Ruf hit the first of three Phillies home runs – the shot coming off of Nationals starter Ross Detwiler – in their 6-3 win over the Nationals, backing Cole Hamels on a night he didn’t have his best stuff.

After a pair of pinch-hit at-bats, Ruf finally made his first start in left field. He finished the game going 2-for-3 with a homer and a single.